What Made the Samurai Bow So Deadly? 

I have been an Archer for the last 25 years, competed in international events and reached the ranking of GMB in Olympic recurve, and longbow. Always have been fascinated by the Japanese bows and would love to shoot one, perhaps a visit to Japan 😊❤ the spiritual connection is indeed something that develops over the years.

Now I finally understand why anime heroes and villains mutually respect their opponents' self-introductions.

The longbow used in this video had less than half the typical draw weight used by trained medieval archers on the battlefields. It was more representative of a hunting longbow, rather than a war bow. It was a very interesting documentary though, thank you very much for sharing.

What happened to the Mongolian Deadly Bow? No doubt about the Japanese Bow and The English Bow, but the Mongolian horseback Bow was a force to be reckoned with...

Bamboo is not wood. It is a type of grass. A great material for building a vast variety of things and structures.

Trying to compare or see which one is "better" is pointless, each of the bows served its respective culture and was made for a specific purpose

Man japenese craftsmanship is awesome to watch

Awesome Documentary

I have built about 80 bows, some years ago, but the yumi has to be the most difficult bow ever to build well. Almost every other style of bow is balanced by tillering, or scraping, balancing the belly of each limb to achieve symmetry. The yumi is assembled with the outside of bamboo on the back and belly, no tillering possible without compromising the belly strength. Add to that the asymmetrical design, boggles my mind on how to achieve it well, if at all. I managed to build a few all bamboo bows, nodes intact, but symmetrical design. Very nice bows, but a Yumi is way, way beyond me.

i always thought that the Yumi was asymmetrical to facilitate it's use while kneeling and on horseback and not necessarily to give the arrow more speed.

point of disagreement #1: a 50lb draw weight would be stupidly light for a long bow #2: it's been established that the longbow was likely shot from both sides of the bow limb and its simply preference of the archer

Well presented

Significant comparable video between English long Bow and Japan Samurai cultures Bow ....thank you (Hit history) channel for sharing 11:42

Thank you for an exceptionally educational video. This video has opened the door of inquiry to this amazing form of archery. Very much different than English archery.

I think it was probably more about the skill of the archer, than the bow itself.

by experience, a bow WILL NOT penetrate a forged breast plate, even on a direct hit. There is a massive difference between a forged and hardened piece of armour an a flat sheet of mild steel. But in overall I really liked this documentary (O:

I love how they artificially handicapped the English long bow. War bows regularly had draw weights of 75-100kg, 3x-4x the Yumi

What was the draw weight of the longbow tested? Tods workshop has done various longbow tests - the archer in those tests does not easily draw his longbow....

I love how the Japanese archer hats almost look like coyboy hats, bamboo isn't a tree it's a grass and the individual is a stock of bamboo not a tree

Love how the revolver guy at the beginning of the video bump fires accidentally. Lucky that cylinder wasn't loaded.

Enjoyed this though the test itself…

So, the Yumi arrow went roughly a foot into the gel aka 30cm, and the Long Bow went roughly 10 inches aka 25cm. The reason the Yumi went deeper is simple. It uses a longer arrow. We already know they travel at the same speed. Physics teaches us that if two objects are traveling at the speed and one of the objects is longer it will have a greater impact. If they have the same mass. Which from the look of them if they don't the Yumi arrow is heavier and that would also make it go deeper. Side note: both would go through any normal size human's thigh.

every Sunday practice... that's i need!!!

It would have been great to know what each Samurai was saying to each other!!!!!!

Thanks for posting

I do agree the Japanese craftsmanship on everything they do is second to none. But you cant down play how important and affective the English longbow was. It was hated by all who came against it. It can also peirce chainmail.🙏

I would place a Mongol war bow up against either of these in a hot second.

As a kyudoka I find the the exaggerated rhetoric, the worn out stereotypes and the whole idea of comparing bows in this way rather puerile. Just one point: If one is to test the potential of a yumi, proper shooting technique is paramount. An arrow speed of 34 metres per second is embarrassingly low and simply due to a blatant lack of technique. Any of the Japanese students shown would have done better. We measured our arrow speeds systematically a while ago and averaged well above 50m/s (164 feet / second), even with lighter bows of about 18kg. With a starting point and “experts” like these, no meaningful results can be expected. Nice pictures, though.

Splendid..a master..❤

Interesting.

Art and ritual are both in everything there It's beautiful If you have a chance to go you should

What in the Deadliest Warrior is this? The editing and narration is so hokey. It's like a children's history picture book in film form.

Excellent documentary, and it warms my heart that the old skills are being passed down the generations. But it is not fair to the English Longbow. It shows the arrow skidding sideways losing speed all the way to the target before the fletching finally brings the tail back in line. This means the arrow has the incorrect spine (stiffness) for that archer using that specific bow. Yes it is that particular. A "50Lb bow" is measured at 28 inches of draw, and every inch over or under 28" is ~ 3Lb over/under whatever the bow is rated at. So if the archer only has a 27" draw, it's only a ~47Lb bow. If the arrow was properly spined (for that archer using that specific bow) it would leave the string oscillating (like a fish swimming) perfectly around the bow. All arrows which are heavier at the front than the rear, bend when force is applied to the tail. All arrows launched from fingers have some sideways force applied to the tail as the bow string leaves the fingertips which makes the arrow bend sideways in the middle. For a right hand archer the tail is deflected left, which makes the arrow bend in the middle towards the right, around the bow, then the middle of the arrow oscillates back the other way to the left flicking the tail to the right and around the bow. A properly spined arrow does not touch the bow but does one left/right oscillation in perfect synchronisation around it. The tail first deflects left towards the bow and looks like it's going to hit (while the middle is bending to the right around the bow), then at the last moment the tail flicks right and also misses the bow. The arrow in this video is deflecting off the bow, losing speed in the friction, and more importantly, flying sideways all the way to the target, and striking it slightly sideways which then has a HUGE impact (pun intended) on the penetration. If you think I'm being fastidious, look up "archer's paradox".

that samurai bow seems to be really technical

I wish you could do some work on the Steppes, Hun , Russ, Mongolian wood and since recurved bows meant fo horse riders

Both stand-off weapons, but with different purposes and ranges. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Infantry with Rifles and hand mortars. 🇯🇵 cavalry with pistols or carbines. It’s an apples to oranges comparison.

They built a recurve Bow. Two become one and the force of the arrow is Huge!

Horses for courses, the English/Welsh longbow was a simply made artillery piece intended for foot soldier use, not a knights weapon. Having a bow draw weight of 80 to 160lbs, delivering heavy war arrows (two to three times the weight of modern hunting arrows) up to 300yds at a rate of 10 arrows a minute. When the archers' stock of arrows (typically 2 dozen) was exhausted he joined the rank of foot soldiers. Despite accuracy not being the ultimate requirement, when a youth was able to fell a squirrel at 100 paces he could enlist in the army, where the requirement became to deliver his arrows into a designated distant piece of ground over any terrain. Can you imagine advancing on foot to engage the enemy when flanked by up to 5,000 longbow archers delivering a steady (over 60,000 a minute) hail of war arrows which are far from spent by the time they reach you, as the French forces faced at Agincourt. Realistically, you need to survive a minutes at least in the kill zone before engaging the enemy. Consequently, it is understandable that the availability of suitable longbow staves (Yew preferred) and archery practice became a matter for royal decree and charter in 16th Century England. Needless to say, I could not even pass the enlistment entry requirement with my modern recurve today, let alone hit the "Cloth of Gold" at 240yds (as King Henry VIII did with12 arrows in 1520) with my longbow, no matter how hard I try. Incidentally one József Mónusa using a traditional English longbow shot a flight optimised arrow over 450 yds in 2017.

Remember watching a film by Lindybeige (youtuber) he once interviewed professional competition archers and was struck by their (almost) deformed draw hand, its also been shown that Medieval English bowmen shared similar deformities (calcification on shoulders hands etc.), i wonder given the skill needed to wield a sword meant Japanese archers didn't practice to a disfiguring degree ?.

The English Longbow is also heralded as masterpiece 0:43

A recurve and a straight bow of the same poundage would alwayw make the recurve better. A real test would be using equivalent poundage.

Probably the same reason why every bow is deadly

One question if I may! > Is it true that up until the mid/late XIXth century, the Japanese did not use screws to put together their firearms - they (basically from what I've read) assembled them like they were a sort "lego-blocks" - ONLY AT TIMES - reinforcing them with small "pins" that looked quite similar to rivets? PS. I've read that in a book describing the History of portable firearms (muskets, carabines, guns, pistols, etc). It was only during the Meiji period (when Japan started an extremely fast modernisation) that they adopted metal bolts and screws (...apparently...) ...?...

I doubt the samurai would want to withstand a barrage of longbow arrows. Just saying, the Japanese bow may be better overall but being on the business end of the English longbow will kill you just the same. While the lamellar type armor the Japanese used is pretty protective, it’s less so than the steel plate of the French knight and they still suffered greatly from the English longbow.

7:06 *incredibly it shoots its arrows at 34 meters per second too...* "dude i forgot the formula can i look at your paper?" "Yeah but dont copy, they'll know" "Yeah i wont"

because bow is the first and ancient weapon of samurai before spear and sword use so intense later period

You need to add the Ottoman or Saracen bow to this comparison.

Shooting an arrow from a long, asymmetrical, recurve composite bow like Yumi while mounted is obviously hard. Most horse archer use a short bow for a reason. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is an awesome game.

Who is going to carry on this wonderful art?

The yumi wasnt the only weapon design for war on horse back. These elite fighters also used spears and sword when they ran out of arrows. The spears were needed for others on horse back, but if they got too close on foot, longer swords called tachi were used - somewhat like European sabers or rapiers. Shorter and lighter ones called katana were carried by the samurai and elites as part of public dress. They werent useful on horseback.

They wasted a perfectly good bucket there.

On horseback nothing beat the Mongol Bow you can shoot while attack and while retreating

interesting, but I'm immediately suspicious when it says "the arrow is longer, and therefore heavier" ... since when is that a thing? Why could you not have just weighed the arrows and shown us which is heavier? Thickness comes into play, as well as the materials used to manufacture, so just saying "it's longer" doesn't really mean anything. They may well be heavier, but by not simply weighing the actual arrows and showing everyone it makes it feel deceptive.

Very interesting and well made docu.

Guy at the begining wore the armor flipped😂

This is history

All the Englishmen getting defensive about the longbow 😂😂😂

It's not the bow that's deadly It's the operator

Total respect for the skill of these archers and their bows, but I have to say the attempt to compare with the long bow was a bit silly - the point being that they limited the war bow they tested to the same draw weight as a war bow. If there's one thing we know about medieval long bows is they had draw weight in some cases more than triple (50- 80kg VS, 25KG )that of the bow they tested. So they decided that the Samurai bow was better than the long bow, but only after removing the major advantage to be had from using a long bow. A bit like deciding I can run faster than Hussain Bolt but only after having slowed him down! To be honest it's a bit silly to boil this down to which is better. Different tools for different jobs, is a hammer better than a screwdriver? - depends what you want to do with it. What I do know, is in my hands I'd probably have about an equal chance of impaling my foot. "But you need to have super strength to draw a war bow" I hear you cry ... true.... the point is both bows need an expert and we should admire the dedication and skill of both.

Cet arc est réputé pour être très encombrant malgré tout

Fyi, the comparison here is a 50 pound Yumi vs Longbow, same draw weight for accurate comparison. In war times, the Longbows were typically 120 pounds, some were 150 pounds. Likewise in Samurai era, the WAR Yumi, had 3 layer of composite materials, and required 3 men to string, past surviving samples from temples & museums have been tested, and they have draw weights of 120 to 150 pounds. Surprisingly similar to English War Longbows. Modern Yumi are for archery practice & ceremonial, they are typically only 30 pounds draw weight, this is why there's a common myth that Japanese Yumi was weak. Historical records show it was not weak, it was the main killer in the field of battle.

I'm curious: Why do all of these archer samurai seem to be wearing tachi instead of katana? Are they basically reenacting characters from a period that predates the period of the katana? I like tachi!

When you were choosing "like for like" you should have chosen the common usage of the average Samurai bow draw weight vs the average longbow draw weight. I've tried a few longbows, and as a bigger relatively fit guy I was told I would likely go for a pretty heavy draw. What would the "commisary" issue to a general soldier in either army type.

I would like to see one of those horses that can gallop at 37 mph with armored rider and saddle ! Just think of the speed you could reach with a jockey, triple crown here I come

the pound rating ?

It would appear that everyone has forgotten the main component in this arsenal... A long bow capable of traversing the field of Azincourt? No, these riders relied on their dexterity and agility to outmaneuver their opponents... It rained that day... the field was muddy, but... I kept my promise and from this day onward

The draw weight of your tested bows has nothing to do with a real warbow. The Mary rose bows are around 160 lbs of draw weight. How much is a Japanese war bow. In my opinion it does not make for a historic relevant comparison if you shoot weak target bows that have nothing to do with their historic counterparts.

Though many long bows were made cheaply from a single stave, the better crafted bows coupled a hard durable wood with a softer elastic wood for flexibility. The result was a remarkably efficient weapon far more accurate and deadly than its Japanese recurve equivalent, which had less draw weight, less range and less killing power.

The katana & wakazashi swords were the symbol of authority of the samurais; even bumping into a samurai accidentally could lead to that persons immediate execution. The samurai's soul was said to inhabit his sword, I don't think the sword was "secondary" to the bow.

The Japanese have a tradition of perfecting everything they do 💯

Several native tribes one being the hadatsa have used asymmetric bows not only Japan.

The samurai were riding Japanese dosanko horses, not race retired thoroughbreds. Ogasawara san's horse is a bit smaller than the other's. That might have helped a lot! Less speed! More time to execute and aim. Every millisecond is important in yabusame.

0:41 3:23 left handed kyudo? 3:45 Showkyudo... 47:38 false aiming - look the arrow is left to the mato - false technique?

Ooh, ooh, I know, I know -- the samurai, right?

While I respect the Japanese bow and culture the comparisons this makes vs the english longbow is pretty bad imo. Fact is we have no surviving medieval English longbows so we have no idea if they were recurved at the tip or not after the concept moved westward with the crusades and mongols. Partly due to late industrialization, Japanese medieval history was retained to a greater degree.

9:15 Seems he put a little...English on it

If I had to guess, I'd say it would be the arrows...

Practice. Every tool gets better with practice.

30:06 MY NAME!!! IS GYOUBU MASATAKA ONIWA!!! AS I BREATHE!!! YOU WILL NOT PASS THE CASTLE GATE!!!

never heard of an longbowman in europe shooting an 50 lbs bow in a battle.. I also dont believe samurai did that.. Things do change quite alot with drawweight

Bruv English longbows were the truth and one huge reason why they became a world superpower

Someone who made this programme needs to read Dr Ed Ashby's work and learn about the difference between kinetic energy in flight and the momentum through the target after impact, also ballistic gel has proven to be an unsound medium in which to test arrow penetration as it acts nothing like an animal carcass in practise.

While this is interesting and well done, I do think they should have used war bow draw weights for the long bow and a comparable poundage for the Japanese bow if there was one comparable

All the moaneyguts in this comment section🧐

5 centimeter is only 1.9 inches. So not really much different but say that when you get shot HAHAHAHA I enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

Of course in reality the Yumi would be around 100lbs draw weight while the longbow pushed 150-200lbs You'd probably see similar performance between the two with the same weight arrows at the historical draw weights, especially when you consider most longbows were slightly recurve, and technique varied between individuals

It probly had so much power because of overall draw length and Bamboo arrows of coarse.

What Made the Samurai Bow So Deadly? It has a pointy end.

0:28 ayooo bro needs to relax

Comparing a 40lb draw weight Samurai bow to a 40lb long bow is not a fair comparison of the weapon. Long bows weren't 40lb draw weight, they were 160lbs or more. It would be like comparing a truck without an engine to a bicycle and declaring a bicycle better than a truck.

Yumi has to be the most silly looking bow ever. And I am skeptical about its power too

What makes a bow deadly ? Any bow ? Simple. The archer. Why is so many different types of bows ? Different methods of fighting and different available materials. At the end is the man holding the bow, who kills, not the bow by itself.

The fartpipe bow was the most lethal.

Not really an accurate comparison, since the draw weight of a longbow was usually over 100 lbs

The archer made it deadly

Discounting the mongol’s bow because their fleet sank during a storm, is like sport before black people can play

"Sam-yoor-eye."

Manchu bow is even more evloved than longbow and yumi

What made the bow so dangerous, erm that would be the sharp pointy bit on the front of the arrow. You say it was made to kill, well bows were design to kill.

It's a false test makeing them have the same draw weight. They should be kept as each would have been originally.